Daily Business Report-Nov. 19, 2020
Game pieces made by The Broken Token company. (Photos courtesy of The Broken Token.)
The Broken Token:
One man’s hobby morphs into a
wildly successful North County business
It all began as a hobby in Greg Spence’s garage when he started tinkering with board game pieces and dreaming up ways to
organize them.
The Escondido software engineer had developed an affinity for collecting unique and eclectic board games to play with his
family and friends. As his collection grew, he began replacing cardboard game pieces with shiny replica coins and detailed miniatures, and crafted organization and storage tools to hold game pieces, protect cards and roll dice.
“When you get into games that are really involved or strategic, there’s a lot of pieces and parts to set up, and it takes a long time,” Spence said. “So once I started optimizing the process for game piece organization, I went to a board gaming website to share what I’d made, and people were saying, ‘I’d totally buy that!’”
That’s how the concept for his small business, The Broken Token, was born. “Much like The Snuggly Duckling in the movie ‘Tangled,’ we thought that the words Broken and Token together were fun, easy to remember, and invoked images of a good time and gaming together with friends,” says Spence.
The idea quickly grew beyond a solo hobby in the garage to hiring employees, finding business space and ultimately quitting his day job in 2015. Today, The Broken Token has 40 employees in Escondido and just purchased a 15,000-square-foot manufacturing space in Vista where they will move all operations into this winter. Its annual sales are $3.5 million.
The Broken Token gets help from Innovate 78
and the California Competes Tax Credit
The move into Vista is The Broken Token’s fourth expansion in North County, but given the high costs of doing business in California, Spence considered moving the business out of state. That’s when he was introduced to Innovate78, a hub of free economic development resources that is backed by North San Diego County cities (consisting of Carlsbad, Escondido, Oceanside, San Marcos and Vista) and administered by San Diego Regional EDC.
With Innovate78’s assistance, Spence was able to secure a $150,000 California Competes Tax Credit that will help his business grow, and most importantly, stay in North County. With this support, The Broken Token plans to add 20-30 jobs over the next five years, with an investment of more than $1 million in capital expenditures and machinery. Innovate78 has also created valuable connections with other local businesses and entrepreneurs. His story is a prime example of startup business success this October, which is recognized by the community as “Startup Month.”
A bright idea
So what is Innovate78, exactly? It is a hub of economic development know-how that is backed by North San Diego County cities to help businesses along the 78 Corridor recover from this economic downturn and grow to be more resilient.
The cities of Carlsbad, Escondido, Oceanside, San Marcos and Vista proactively established Innovate78 in 2014 to advance the economies of the region together. This pioneering partnership has set the region apart – as other cities compete, Innovate78 unites. This allows for growth success stories like The Broken Token’s expansion and move from Escondido to Vista with support, not competition, from both cities.
Think of it as concierge service for businesses to help them grow, thrive and ultimately stay in North County.
“I wish I would have known about Innovate78 earlier,” Spence said. “It wasn’t until we hit that growth wall that we started looking for options. It’s a great way to get a direct line to the cities who are there to help businesses continue to grow.”
Connecting businesses with resources
Innovate78 cities work to support their business communities, while the program facilitates a collective vision for the region’s recovery and prosperity. By promoting North County as a cohesive region – not just a collection of distinct municipalities – Innovate78 encourages business to expand without a need to leave the area.
“We love helping local businesses find resources they may not have even known about, especially in a season of such uncertainty,” said Kierstin Rielly, program manager for Innovate78. “We are here to help businesses come out of this pandemic stronger and positioned for growth and we will help connect them to other local business owners along the way.”
Through Innovate78’s “Innovator Events” (which are currently virtual during the pandemic), Spence has teamed up with other local business owners for insight and support.
“It can be a scary thing to be a business owner and not have a group you can turn to for advice, especially during a pandemic,” Spence said. “That’s why this is such an incredible resource.”
Connect with Innovate78
North County business owners can head to Innovate78’s new website to discover resources for businesses, upcoming virtual event information, a data dashboard and more.
Go to innovate78.com to learn how Innovate78 supports the business ecosystem of the 78 Corridor by elevating the region’s reputation and helping businesses innovate and evolve.
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Riverwalk San Diego gets City Council OK
With a vote of approval from the San Diego City Council on Tuesday, real estate company Hines is set to begin construction on Riverwalk San Diego, a project to transform the existing Riverwalk golf course in western Mission Valley into a 200-acre, live-work-play transit-oriented neighborhood. Nearly 100 acres of the village will be dedicated to open space and a regional park. Hines will also restore the stretch of the San Diego River that runs through Riverwalk.
Riverwalk will be anchored by a new San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) Green-Line trolley stop and town square at the heart of the village. Bike and walking paths will skirt and traverse Riverwalk, including an extension of the San Diego River Trail.
Riverwalk will also include:
- 4,300 homes (10 percent of which will be income-qualified affordable housing), ranging from studios to three-bedroom homes.
- 152,000 square feet of neighborhood-serving retail.
- One million square feet of office space.
- Transportation improvements, including:
Intelligent traffic signals and new entryways on Friars Road.
Flood capacity improvements to Fashion Valley Road.
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Solving a mystery: How the TB bacterium
develops rapid resistance to antibiotics
For a slow-growing microbe that multiplies infrequently, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the pathogen that causes tuberculosis (TB) has long puzzled researchers as to how it develops resistance to antibiotics so quickly, in a matter of weeks to months.
Now, TB researchers at San Diego State University have uncovered a crucial clue to the mystery: the answer may lie in the epigenetic domain rather than the genetic domain where most scientists have concentrated their efforts. Their discovery could help advance new diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccine targets.
Epigenetics is the study of inheritable changes in gene expression that do not involve a corresponding change to the underlying DNA sequence — meaning changes to the phenotype but no change in the genotype. This affects only the physical structure of the DNA, through a process called DNA methylation where a chemical ‘cap’ is added to the DNA molecule, preventing or facilitating the expression of certain genes.
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Nonprofit job growth anemic as new COVID-19 wave looms
By Michael Theis | The Chronicle of Philanthropy
The nonprofit job recovery continued at an anemic pace in October, a worrisome sign that recent gains could be erased if a surging wave of Covid-19 cases results in more strict social-distancing measures and economic disruptions.
Nonprofits added roughly 38,200 jobs to their payrolls in October, according to an analysis from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Civil Society Studies. But the nonprofit work force was still about 7 percent smaller in October than it was in February, with an estimated net loss of 910,850 nonprofit jobs since the pandemic began.
Health-care nonprofits led the way in growth, with more than 25,300 jobs added. Education nonprofits, a category that includes schools, lost an estimated 15,250 jobs in October. It’s the second month in a row that education nonprofits have cut jobs. They employed 12.3 percent fewer workers in October than in February.
In May, at the depths of the first wave of the U.S. Covid-19 pandemic, nonprofits had cut 1.6 million jobs from their payrolls. In June, nonprofits seemed to be making a comeback, regaining 24 percent of those jobs. But since then, the growthhas slowed. In September, nonprofits recovered only 1.7 percent of the jobs initially lost. That number rose slightly in October, to 2.3 percent.
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SDG&E and partners offer customers up to $1,500
off purchase or lease of electric vehicle
San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and other California electric utilities are teaming up with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to offer the California Clean Fuel Reward (CCFR), a point-of-sale incentive of up to $1,500 for the purchase or lease of any eligible new battery electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle from a participating automotive retailer. The program began Tuesday.
Customers will be able to purchase an eligible vehicle from an enrolled retailer and receive an instant reduction in the purchase price.
“This new incentive program will help put zero-emission vehicles within the reach of more residents in our region, at a time when consumer interest in electric vehicles is growing and more people are discovering the convenience of driving electric,” said Estela de Llanos, vice president, clean transportation, sustainability and chief environmental officer at SDG&E. “With wider adoption of EVs, our region will also benefit from improved air quality and reduced carbon emissions.”
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San Diego Housing Commission
earns national housing award
The San Diego Housing Commission’s (SDHC) rehabilitation of the single-room occupancy (SRO) property New Palace Hotel to provide permanent housing with supportive services for seniors who experienced homelessness or were at risk of homelessness earned a prestigious Award of Excellence from the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO).
NAHRO Awards of Excellence recognize “outstanding innovation and achievement in housing and community development programs throughout the country.” Only 21 programs or projects nationwide received NAHRO Awards of Excellence this year.
Located in Bankers Hill, New Palace Hotel was transformed into 79 affordable studio apartments by SDHC in partnership with SDHC’s nonprofit affiliate, Housing Development Partners.
This was the first major renovation of New Palace in approximately 25 years and included energy-efficiency upgrades.
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Bank of Southern California
appoints chief risk officer
Bank of Southern California, N.A., a community business bank headquartered in San Diego, announced the appointment of Martin Liska as executive vice president, chief risk officer.
In this newly created role, he will lead all risk management functions including credit risk management, enterprise risk management, internal audit, regulatory compliance, and more. He will also be responsible for the design and execution of the bank’s enterprise risk management program and practices, including establishing frameworks and methodologies to support effective risk identification, assessment, mitigation, and monitoring. Liska will also assume the role as the Bank’s BSA officer.
Liska joins Bank of Southern California with nearly 30 years of industry experience often serving in leadership roles, each with increasing responsibility at leading financial institutions. Most recently, he served as senior vice president, chief risk officer for Preferred Bank. Prior to that, he was the senior vice president, BSA/AML officer of California United Bank.
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Jennifer McCarthy joins Suffolk
as director of strategic client development
Suffolk announced the hiring of Jennifer McCarthy as director of strategic client development for San Diego. McCarthy will be responsible for developing and supporting business development strategies to help expand Suffolk’s reach and build its brand in San Diego and the Southern California region.
Prior to joining Suffolk, McCarthy led business development efforts at Swinerton. She also held leadership positions at architecture, development and construction firms in the Southeast and Arizona.
McCarthy is a native of San Diego and is actively involved in the local community. She currently sits on the board of the San Diego Downtown Partnership and is the corporate sponsorship chair for the Design Build Institute of America (DBIA) San Diego Chapter. She is also involved with the Commercial Real Estate Development Association (NAIOP) in San Diego and will chair its2021 Science & Technology annual event.
El Cajon Harley Davidson motorcyclist
arraigned in task force felony insurance fraud case
Omar Yousif, 22, of El Cajon, was arraigned on multiple felony counts of insurance fraud after allegedly misrepresenting the timing of a motorcycle collision in order to receive an undeserved insurance payout. Shanice Davis, 21, was also charged for her involvement in the alleged fraud.
An investigation by the San Diego Automobile Insurance Fraud Task Force comprised of the Department of Insurance, San Diego County District Attorney’s Office and the California Highway Patrol, working with the National Insurance Crime Bureau, revealed that on Oct. 2, 2019, Yousif purchased a new insurance policy for his 2019 Harley Davidson FXFB Motorcycle. Two days later, on Oct. 4, 2019, Yousif and Davis reported that they were in an accident where Yousif’s motorcycle collided into Davis’ vehicle. During the claims process, both Yousif and Davis, during a recorded call, stated the collision occurred on Oct. 4. Yousif and Davis had no prior relationship.
The investigation determined the accident occurred three days before Yousif purchased the new insurance policy and five days before both he and Davis claimed the accident happened. When confronted with the evidence, Yousif admitted the collision occurred on Sept. 29, 2019, prior to the insurance policy’s inception. Yousif misrepresented the timing of the collision in order to receive an undeserved insurance payout of $1,302.
Yousif was arraigned on Nov. 16, 2020. Davis will be arraigned during the first week of December. The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting this case.
Unmasked: Doctors’ association execs joined
governor at lobbyist’s birthday bash
CalMatters
The dinner party Gov. Gavin Newsom apologized this week for attending — saying it was a mistake to dine with so many people amid the coronavirus pandemic — included two guests who lobby on behalf of California doctors, the very profession that has been imploring people to refrain from social activity that could hasten the virus’ spread.
Dustin Corcoran, CEO of the California Medical Association, and Janus Norman, the group’s lobbyist and senior vice president, joined Newsom and several other guests Nov. 6 at the French Laundry, an exclusive restaurant in Napa County. Fox LA publishedphotos Tuesday night of the soiree celebrating the birthday of lobbyist Jason Kinney, a longtime political adviser to Newsom. One of the images shows at least 10 people sitting close together at an elegant table, none wearing masks. Norman is seated beside Newsom and Corcoran sits a few seats over.
The two executives “attended a private 50th birthday dinner for their friend Jason Kinney earlier this month. The dinner was held in accordance with state and county guidelines,” California Medical Association spokesperson Anthony York said by email.
The revelation is causing some doctors to worry that both government and the medical profession could lose credibility with the public, just as the state is imposing new restrictions in response to surging infections.
